Raekwon McMillan made Urban Meyer squirm a little, and he apologized to the Ohio State football coach for that. But in the end, the five-star linebacker prospect from Georgia declared his allegiance to the Buckeyes yesterday, a major victory for Meyer in the land of the Southeastern Conference.

In choosing Ohio State, McMillan shunned Nick Saban and Alabama, as well as Clemson, Georgia and Auburn. He had a little fun doing it, though, during an announcement televised live on the NBC Sports Network.

Sitting at a table with five caps in front of him at Liberty County High School in Hinesville, Ga., he first grabbed an Alabama cap and fiddled with it.

“I am going to roll with Ohio State,” McMillan said, putting the Alabama cap aside and pulling on an Ohio State cap. After a pause, McMillan asked the TV studio host, “Can I make a correction? I am going to The Ohio State University.”

Will four-star receiver Johnnie Dixon of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., say the same thing today instead of choosing Alabama or the University of Miami? OSU coaches have to wait on that one, just as McMillan — the 2013 high school Butkus Award winner and consensus top inside linebacker prospect in the nation — made Meyer wait right up until he pulled on the OSU cap.

“Just tell (Meyer), ‘I’m sorry, I know your heart was pounding like mine, Coach; I’m sorry I left you hanging and didn’t give you any hints,’” McMillan said. “‘But I’m giving my next four years of my life to you, so I hope I have it in good hands.’”

Coaches aren’t allowed to comment until recruits have signed a national letter of intent or enrolled in the school, so Meyer must be mum until early January, when McMillan plans to be an early enrollee.

“It’s arguably the biggest recruiting battle Urban Meyer has won since he’s been at Ohio State, and he has won some big ones,” said recruiting analyst Bill Kurelic of Bucknuts and 247sports.com.

The competition for McMillan in the final days pitted what are considered to be two of the nation’s premier recruiting coaches, Meyer and Saban. Alabama came on late, nudging inside Clemson but not overtaking the Buckeyes for McMillan, who has visited Ohio State several times in the past year.

At 6 feet 3 and 235 pounds with above-average speed, McMillan is considered to be an immediate-impact prospect. Although Alabama likely talked to him about its recent run of producing top-flight linebackers and playing for national championships, OSU probably sold him on the fact its linebacker depth chart is shallow and he would have a great chance to play early.

“Physically, he is ready to play,” Kurelic said. “And he has played against good competition in Georgia.”

McMillan heaped praise on the coaches of the schools in his final five, including Georgia’s Mark Richt, Auburn’s Gus Malzahn and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney.

“That’s some of the greatest guys I’ve met in my life,” he said.

But the feeling he got from Meyer and OSU defensive coordinator Luke Fickell put the Buckeyes above the pack.

“Every time I visited the school, every time I talked to Coach Meyer on the phone, every time I talked to Coach Fickell, every time we sat down and talked, we just had a special bond,” McMillan said. “There is just a special bond about Ohio State.”

Meyer, Fickell, defensive line coach Mike Vrabel and co-defensive coordinator Everett Withers had the last in-home visit with McMillan on Sunday night, but McMillan said it was the almost three-year effort by Meyer and his staff that sealed the deal.

While Meyer spoke with McMillan and his parents that night, “Coach Vrabel played with my little brothers the whole time he was there,” McMillan said. “It just had a family vibe.”